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Workplace health - reporting duties
RIDDOR is the law that requires employers to report certain serious workplace injuries, diseases and dangerous events to the authorities. Every employer, however small, has to know what is reportable and report it when it happens. Getting it wrong - not reporting something you should - is itself a failing. Here is RIDDOR explained for small employers: what is reportable, the deadlines, and what to do.
The short answer
RIDDOR - the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 - requires employers to report certain work-related incidents to the HSE. The main reportable categories are: deaths and specified injuries (serious injuries like fractures other than to fingers, thumbs and toes, amputations, serious burns) - reported without delay, then confirmed within 10 days; over-seven-day injuries (where a worker is incapacitated for more than seven consecutive days, not counting the day of the accident) - reported within 15 days of the accident; certain diagnosed occupational diseases; and specified dangerous occurrences (defined near-miss events). Most reports are made online through the HSE's RIDDOR reporting portal. For a small employer, complying means knowing which incidents are reportable, reporting them within the deadlines, and keeping records of reportable incidents. It is a legal duty that applies to every employer regardless of size - so knowing what RIDDOR requires is part of running any workplace.
What RIDDOR is
RIDDOR is the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 - the law that requires employers (and others in control of work premises) to report certain serious work-related incidents to the enforcing authority, usually the HSE. The purpose is to let the authorities know when serious things happen at work, so that patterns can be seen, serious incidents investigated where warranted, and workplace risks understood and addressed. So RIDDOR is a reporting duty: when a reportable incident happens, the employer must report it, providing the details, within the required time.
It applies to every employer, however small - there is no exemption for small businesses. A small employer has exactly the same duty to report a reportable incident as a large one, so knowing RIDDOR is part of running any workplace with employees. It is not an onerous duty in normal times, because reportable incidents are, for most small employers, rare - but when one happens, the duty to report is real and has deadlines, and failing to report something that should be reported is itself a breach. So the key for a small employer is to know what is reportable and to report it correctly when it occurs, rather than to be caught out not knowing. RIDDOR is one of those background legal duties that matters most at the moment something goes wrong - which is exactly when it is too late to start learning it.
Injuries that are reportable
The reportable injuries fall into three levels of seriousness. Deaths: any work-related death must be reported, without delay. Specified injuries: a defined list of serious injuries - including fractures other than to fingers, thumbs and toes; amputations; serious burns; and other defined serious injuries - which must be reported without delay and then confirmed with a report within 10 days. And over-seven-day injuries: where a worker is incapacitated - unable to do their normal work - for more than seven consecutive days as a result of a work accident, not counting the day of the accident itself (but counting weekends and rest days), which must be reported within 15 days of the accident.
The over-seven-day category is the one small employers most often need to apply, and its detail is worth getting right. It is triggered when the incapacity - being unable to do normal duties - lasts more than seven consecutive days after the accident. The day of the accident is not counted, but all days after are, including weekends and days the person would not have worked. And the 15-day deadline to report runs from the date of the accident, not from the day the seven-day threshold is crossed - so if someone is injured and is still off after seven days, the report is due within 15 days of the original accident. Getting these details right - which injuries are specified, how the seven-day count works, when the deadlines run from - is the practical core of RIDDOR injury reporting for a small employer, because these are the categories most likely to arise.
Diseases and dangerous occurrences
Beyond injuries, RIDDOR also requires the reporting of certain occupational diseases and certain dangerous occurrences. The occupational diseases are specified work-related diseases that must be reported when a doctor diagnoses them in a worker whose work involves the relevant exposure - such as certain cases of occupational cancer, certain severe cramp, occupational dermatitis, occupational asthma, hand-arm vibration syndrome, and others, where linked to the work. So if a worker is diagnosed with one of the reportable diseases and their work involved the associated cause, that diagnosis is reportable. This is relevant to workplaces with health hazards - for instance, hand-arm vibration syndrome from vibrating tools, or occupational asthma from certain dusts or fumes, are reportable diseases.
The dangerous occurrences are a defined list of serious near-miss events - things that could have caused serious harm even if they did not - such as the collapse or failure of certain equipment, explosions, and other specified events. These are reportable because a dangerous occurrence signals a serious risk that happened to not cause injury this time, which the authorities want to know about. For most small employers, dangerous occurrences are rare and specific, but it is worth being aware that certain serious near-misses are reportable, not just actual injuries. So RIDDOR's reportable events go beyond injuries to include specified diseases (on diagnosis) and specified dangerous occurrences (serious near-misses) - a small employer should be aware of all three strands: reportable injuries, reportable diseases, and reportable dangerous occurrences, so that whichever arises, they know it may need reporting.
What a small employer should do
For a small employer, complying with RIDDOR comes down to three things: know what is reportable, report it within the deadline when it happens, and keep records. Knowing what is reportable - the injury categories, the reportable diseases, the dangerous occurrences - is the foundation, because you cannot report what you do not recognise as reportable. It is worth being familiar with the categories in advance, so that when an incident happens, you can tell whether it is reportable, rather than having to work it out under pressure or miss it entirely. This is the main thing: recognising a reportable incident when it occurs.
Reporting it means making the report to the HSE - most reports are made online through the HSE's RIDDOR reporting portal - within the applicable deadline: without delay for deaths and specified injuries (confirmed within 10 days), within 15 days for over-seven-day injuries, on diagnosis for diseases. Keeping records means recording the reportable incidents, as RIDDOR requires records to be kept of reportable injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences. So the practical RIDDOR routine for a small employer is: be familiar with what is reportable; when something happens, check whether it is reportable and, if so, report it to the HSE within the deadline; and keep a record of it. Done this way, RIDDOR is manageable even for the smallest employer - it is mostly a matter of knowing the categories and acting when one arises. The failing to avoid is not knowing, and so not reporting something that should have been reported - which is why understanding RIDDOR in advance is worth the small effort it takes.
The takeaway
RIDDOR requires employers to report certain serious work-related incidents to the HSE, and it applies to every employer regardless of size. The main reportable categories are: deaths and specified injuries (serious injuries like fractures other than to fingers, thumbs and toes, amputations and serious burns) - reported without delay, confirmed within 10 days; over-seven-day injuries (a worker incapacitated for more than seven consecutive days, not counting the day of the accident) - within 15 days of the accident; certain diagnosed occupational diseases - on diagnosis; and specified dangerous occurrences - serious near-misses. Most reports are made online through the HSE's RIDDOR portal.
For a small employer, complying comes down to knowing what is reportable, reporting it within the deadline when it happens, and keeping records. The main thing is recognising a reportable incident when it occurs - which means being familiar with the categories in advance, so you are not working it out under pressure or missing it. RIDDOR matters most at the moment something goes wrong, which is exactly when it is too late to start learning it. So the sensible course is to understand it before you need it: know the injury categories and their deadlines, be aware that certain diseases and dangerous occurrences are also reportable, and have the HSE reporting route to hand. Done that way, RIDDOR is a manageable duty even for the smallest employer - and one worth getting right, because failing to report what should be reported is itself a breach.
Questions
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 - the law requiring employers (and others in control of work premises) to report certain serious work-related incidents to the enforcing authority, usually the HSE. Its purpose is to let the authorities know when serious things happen at work, so patterns can be seen, incidents investigated, and risks addressed. It applies to every employer, however small.
Three levels: deaths (any work-related death, without delay); specified injuries (a defined list including fractures other than to fingers, thumbs and toes, amputations and serious burns, reported without delay and confirmed within 10 days); and over-seven-day injuries (where a worker is incapacitated for more than seven consecutive days from a work accident, reported within 15 days of the accident).
It is triggered when a worker is unable to do their normal work for more than seven consecutive days after a work accident. The day of the accident is not counted, but all days after are, including weekends and rest days. The 15-day deadline to report runs from the date of the accident, not from when the seven-day threshold is crossed - so it is due within 15 days of the original accident.
Yes. Certain occupational diseases must be reported when a doctor diagnoses them in a worker whose work involved the relevant exposure - such as occupational asthma, occupational dermatitis, hand-arm vibration syndrome and certain occupational cancers. And certain dangerous occurrences - defined serious near-miss events like specific equipment failures or explosions - are reportable, because they signal a serious risk even if no one was hurt.
Most reports are made online through the HSE's RIDDOR reporting portal, within the applicable deadline - without delay for deaths and specified injuries (confirmed within 10 days), within 15 days for over-seven-day injuries, and on diagnosis for reportable diseases. The report provides the details of the incident to the HSE.
Know what is reportable, report it within the deadline when it happens, and keep records of reportable incidents. The main thing is recognising a reportable incident when it occurs, which means being familiar with the categories in advance rather than working it out under pressure. RIDDOR applies to every employer regardless of size, so it is part of running any workplace with employees.
Some reportable diseases - like occupational asthma or hand-arm vibration syndrome - come from workplace exposures. Controlling those exposures, with tested LEV among the controls, is how you prevent them arising.
